Photovoltaic (PV) technology has made great strides in recent years through breakthroughs in efficiency for PV modules. Such improvements, in combination with decreases in manufacturing cost for PV modules is making solar a more viable energy source. Cost per watt is perhaps the most determinative factor when deciding to implement a solar power installation.
Solar cells can be constructed from a base structure of silicon and assembled into a PV module having a basic laminate structure. To reduce costs and for other advantages, recent improvement in using connection materials such as copper, to form a connection grid for a solar cell have improved efficiency and lowered overall cost per watt, thus improving the viability of solar energy.
However, use of materials such as copper can present issues due to disparate coefficients of expansion that exist with respect to silicon based solar cells. Generally, copper expands much more than silicon for a given increase in temperature. Such effects can be exacerbated when portions of a PV module are shaded. Over time, cyclical thermal loading can cause portions of the PV module to break.
One solution proposed for this is disclosed at co-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/985,376, entitled “STRAIN RELIEF APPARATUS FOR SOLAR MODULES,” filed on Dec. 30, 2015, which is incorporated by reference herein. The solution involves the use of strain relief connectors that absorb strain caused by thermal expansion and contraction. The form of the strain relief connectors can be teeth-like connectors that extend non-linearly from relatively large connector buses. Handling and manufacturing PV modules using such connectors is particularly challenging due to the fragile nature of the strain relief connectors. Accordingly, specific assembly methods to take advantage of such connectors are needed.